--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Women with body image or eating disorders…" description: "\"Women with body image or eating disorders are not a special category; [they’re] just more extreme in their response to a culture that emphasizes thinne..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/gloria-steinem-277_appearance_women-with-body-image-or-eating-disorder_2735366.jpg" --- # Women with body image or eating disorders are not a… ![“Women with body image or eating disorders are not a special category; [they’re] just more extreme in their response to a culture that emphasizes thinness and impossible standards of appearance for women instead of individuality and health.” quote by Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/gloria-steinem-277_appearance_women-with-body-image-or-eating-disorder_2735366.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/gloria-steinem-277_appearance_women-with-body-image-or-eating-disorder_2735366.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/gloria-steinem-277_appearance_women-with-body-image-or-eating-disorder_2735366.jpg) > “Women with body image or eating disorders are not a special category; \[they’re\] just more extreme in their response to a culture that emphasizes thinness and impossible standards of appearance for women instead of individuality and health.” [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Eating disorders stem from cultural pressure on thinness, not a unique category, reflecting broader societal standards. **In simple terms:** Disorders reflect cultural thinness pressure. Key Takeaway Challenge harmful beauty standards. Themes body image culture health Mood critical empowering Type social health When to use this quote - school curricula - public health campaigns - therapy - social media Key Concepts feminist theory media influence Questions to Reflect On - How does media shape body image? - What alternatives promote health? A Different Perspective Changing deep-rooted norms is slow and resistant. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appearance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appearance/) [Appearance Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appearance-women-2985856/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Body image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body-image/) [Categories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/categories/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Disorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disorder/) [Eating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eating/) [Eating disorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eating-disorder/) [Eating disorders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eating-disorders/) [Emphasizes Thinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emphasizes-thinness-2985857/) [Extremes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremes/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Impossible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible/) [Individuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individuality/) [Response](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/response/) [Special](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/special/) [Standards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standards/) [Thinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinness/) [Women Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-body-591897/) ## Related quotes > [Girls developed eating disorders when our culture developed a standard of beauty that they couldn't obtain by being healthy. When unnatural thinness became attractive,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/girls-developed-eating-disorders-when-our-culture-developed-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Donald Trump, who surely has lots of high-stakes issues on which to focus, is consumed with the appearance of women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-salie/donald-trump-who-surely-has-lots-of-high-stakes-issues-on-which-to/) [Faith Salie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-salie/) > [“If women cannot eat the same food as men, we cannot experience equal status in the community.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/if-women-cannot-eat-the-same-food-as-men-we-cannot-experience-equal/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [A cultural fixation on female thinness is not an obsession about female beauty but an obsession about female obedience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/a-cultural-fixation-on-female-thinness-is-not-an-obsession-about-2/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [Being thin created intense anxiety that I wouldn't be able to maintain that weight for life, and I couldn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/being-thin-created-intense-anxiety-that-i-wouldn-t-be-able-to/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) > [“As I searched for food perfection, and as I gained weight, I began to realize that the race for perfection in anything was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-rose-steil/as-i-searched-for-food-perfection-and-as-i-gained-weight-i-began-to/) [Rachael Rose Steil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-rose-steil/) > [There have been so many stories about alcoholism and drugs. Eating disorders are also a form of abuse, but rarely a theme in feature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanna-lenken/there-have-been-so-many-stories-about-alcoholism-and-drugs-eating/) [Sanna Lenken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanna-lenken/) > [Yes, I talk about eating disorders and you know, excessive dieting and excessive exercising can be a sign of a mental illness... but when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-gregoire-trudeau/yes-i-talk-about-eating-disorders-and-you-know-excessive-dieting-and/) [Sophie Gregoire Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-gregoire-trudeau/) > [I am forever engaged in a silent battle in my head over whether or not to lift the fork to my mouth, and when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jena-morrow/i-am-forever-engaged-in-a-silent-battle-in-my-head-over-whether-or/) [Jena Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jena-morrow/) > [You don't understand...Cutting unless your'e a cutter. Drugs unless your'e a druggie. Suicide unless you've attempted it. Eating disorders unless you've had one. Me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-don-t-understand-cutting-unless-your-e-a-cutter-drugs-unless-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In this business, there is an insane amount of pressure, spoken and unspoken, to be thin. If you look at some of the television…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-raver/in-this-business-there-is-an-insane-amount-of-pressure-spoken-and/) [Kim Raver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-raver/) > [The more people talk about eating disorders, the more people get the real story about what they're like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-pomers/the-more-people-talk-about-eating-disorders-the-more-people-get-the/) [Scarlett Pomers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-pomers/) > [“We may also discover that sexual abuse helps to explain the high prevalence rates of eating disorders among women and may lend some insight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-a-duncan/we-may-also-discover-that-sexual-abuse-helps-to-explain-the-high/) [Karen A. Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-a-duncan/) > [Having an eating disorder doesn't show ‘strength.’ Strength is when are able to overcome your demons after being sick and tired for so long.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demi-lovato/having-an-eating-disorder-doesn-t-show-strength-strength-is-when-are/) [Demi Lovato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demi-lovato/) > [“Anorexia is, without doubt, a serious eating disorder, but there is a hell of a lot of mainstream disordered eating going on out there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-woolf/anorexia-is-without-doubt-a-serious-eating-disorder-but-there-is-a/) [Emma Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-woolf/) ## More by Gloria Steinem > [People waste more time waiting for someone to take charge of their lives than they do in any other pursuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/people-waste-more-time-waiting-for-someone-to-take-charge-of-their/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Nothing will happen automatically. Change depends on what you and I do every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/nothing-will-happen-automatically-change-depends-on-what-you-and-i-do/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Women are never again going to be mindless coffee-makers or mindless policy-makers in politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/women-are-never-again-going-to-be-mindless-coffee-makers-or-mindless/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [The state of female artists is very good. But the very definition of art has been biased in that 'art' was what men did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/the-state-of-female-artists-is-very-good-but-the-very-definition-of/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [We will live to see the day that St. Patrick's Cathedral is a child-care center and the pope is no longer a disgrace to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/we-will-live-to-see-the-day-that-st-patrick-s-cathedral-is-a-child/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Just when you thought multi-nationals and crazed consumerism were too big to fight, along comes Naomi Klein with facts, spirit, and news of successful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/just-when-you-thought-multi-nationals-and-crazed-consumerism-were-too/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I don't know Beyoncé, but I have the impression that she's sincere, that she really is a feminist and wanted to put the word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-don-t-know-beyonc-but-i-have-the-impression-that-she-s-sincere-that/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I started out life as a writer, and writers write in part because they don't want to talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-started-out-life-as-a-writer-and-writers-write-in-part-because-they/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Proust's tea cake has nothing on one hour in a college dorm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/proust-s-tea-cake-has-nothing-on-one-hour-in-a-college-dorm/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Sadomasochiasm - which we know very well doesn't exist in societies that don't have child abuse - is regarded some sort of natural sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/sadomasochiasm-which-we-know-very-well-doesn-t-exist-in-societies/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Behave like everything you do matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/behave-like-everything-you-do-matters/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [“Part of traveling over years means coming back to the same place and knowing it for the first time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/part-of-traveling-over-years-means-coming-back-to-the-same-place-and/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [If you say, I'm for equal pay, that's a reform. But if you say. I'm a feminist, that's a transformation of society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/if-you-say-i-m-for-equal-pay-that-s-a-reform-but-if-you-say-i-m-a/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I think that part of everybody's success is due to their looks, but it just works in different ways. If you're whatever society calls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-think-that-part-of-everybody-s-success-is-due-to-their-looks-but-it/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Of course, we can change. We're very adaptable. But it takes a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/of-course-we-can-change-we-re-very-adaptable-but-it-takes-a-while/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) [Explore all 766 Gloria Steinem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) ## More Appearance quotes > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I just worried about my weight. Worried about my appearance and thought I wan't pretty enough to be a pop star. It was very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-durham/i-just-worried-about-my-weight-worried-about-my-appearance-and/) [Judith Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-durham/) > [The essence of worldliness is exclusion of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-jacobsen/the-essence-of-worldliness-is-exclusion-of-god/) [Henry Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-jacobsen/) > [We must, however, note that what are usually called the high religions made their appearance within about twenty-five hundred years - most of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-scott-latourette/we-must-however-note-that-what-are-usually-called-the-high-religions/) [Kenneth Scott Latourette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-scott-latourette/) > [First impressions are often the truest, as we find (not infrequently) to our cost, when we have been wheedled out of them by plausible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/first-impressions-are-often-the-truest-as-we-find-not-infrequently-to/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The turning points of lives are not the great moments. The real crises are often concealed in occurrences so trivial in appearance that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-turning-points-of-lives-are-not-the-great-moments-the-real-crises/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [You can have a nice body, dress with the latest fashion. But if you don't have self-confidence sweetheart, forget about looking sexy, you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/you-can-have-a-nice-body-dress-with-the-latest-fashion-but-if-you-don/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [I cannot be convinced that great artists are moralists. Art is first appearances, then meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-cannot-be-convinced-that-great-artists-are-moralists-art-is-first/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [So may the outward shows be least themselves; The world is still deceived with ornament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-may-the-outward-shows-be-least-themselves-the-world-is-still/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We are one of many appearances of the thing called Life; we are not its perfect image, for it has no perfect image except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/we-are-one-of-many-appearances-of-the-thing-called-life-we-are-not/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [I'm OK with my appearance. I have made my peace with it after a long and frankly exhausting battle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-perkins/i-m-ok-with-my-appearance-i-have-made-my-peace-with-it-after-a-long/) [Sue Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-perkins/) > [There is no society or conversation to be kept up in the world without good-nature, or something which must bear its appearance and supply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-no-society-or-conversation-to-be-kept-up-in-the-world/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Appearance records are pretty special. Mine means a lot to me, not only because I love stats, but because it shows that I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james/appearance-records-are-pretty-special-mine-means-a-lot-to-me-not-only/) [David James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james/) > [Every man would fall in love with their voice, their lovely appearance, but no man would ever get past that. They'd never really know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/every-man-would-fall-in-love-with-their-voice-their-lovely-appearance/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) > [I already know what things look like - I don't want description. People believe in appearances, and I don't believe in appearances at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/i-already-know-what-things-look-like-i-don-t-want-description-people/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) [Browse all 2,446 Appearance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appearance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Women with body image or eating disorders are not a special category; [they’re] just more extreme in their response to a culture that emphasizes thinness and impossible standards of appearance for women instead of individuality and health.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gloria Steinem" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/women-with-body-image-or-eating-disorders-are-not-a-special-category/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Appearance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/women-with-body-image-or-eating-disorders-are-not-a-special-category/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/gloria-steinem-277_appearance_women-with-body-image-or-eating-disorder_2735366.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/gloria-steinem-277_appearance_women-with-body-image-or-eating-disorder_2735366.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/gloria-steinem-277_appearance_women-with-body-image-or-eating-disorder_2735366.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Women with body image or eating disorders are not a special category; [they’re] just more extreme in their…” — Gloria Steinem", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gloria Steinem", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Women with body image or eating...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/women-with-body-image-or-eating-disorders-are-not-a-special-category/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/women-with-body-image-or-eating-disorders-are-not-a-special-category/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```